Homilies and Reflections

Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me. Mark 9:37

Fr. Andy Cribben, O. Praem.

Carefully reading Chapters 8, 9, and 10 of Mark's Gospel we can learn many things about Jesus: about his power to nourish the people through the multiplication of loaves, about his power to heal, about his teachings on marriage and divorce, and about his closeness to God in the transfiguration, etc.  But, there is also a continuous thread running through these chapters.  This thread describes how Jesus had to be very directive with his closest disciples who often got caught up wondering who was the greatest, or trying to negotiate being close to Jesus in the kingdom of heaven, or trying to determine who could approach Jesus and who could not, and of course, today, we hear how the disciples were concerned about who should be allowed to preach and heal in Jesus' name.

I sometimes think of the narrow-mindedness of the disciples and wonder how they could be so stupid, so petty, so worried about non-essentials.  But then I realize that their desire for greatness, for power, for some sort of special treatment by Jesus, and their attempts to keep Jesus for themselves is rather typical human behavior.  Look at the first reading today and see how Moses had to wonder if jealousy was figuring in to the decisions of his companions.  I admit that I often think of the disciples as this cohesive band of buddies who thrilled and bonded at the opportunity to learn from and follow Jesus.  It is more true that they started out as mostly strangers, a motley crew of men who were as much rivals with each other as they were disciples of Jesus.  Their jealousy of one another, envy of those who are able to heal in Jesus' name (and note well that in the section that precedes this, the disciples were not able to heal a possessed boy) as well as the fact that they tried to prevent other people from coming to Jesus, including children, is of great concern to Jesus such that we have the passage today.

In Mark 9:37 the last verse reads: "Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me."

Jesus is talking about hospitality, he is talking about ministry, talking about access to his word, his power, his grace, his presence.  Jesus is talking about NOT being a stumbling block to others who are trying to come to him, directly or indirectly.  "Do not prevent them," he says of those who speak in his name.  "Whoever is not against us is for us."  And as I look out and see parents and grandparents with their children and grandchildren, I know that you know that you have a great responsibility in teaching these young ones.  And you must take seriously the task of teaching them the faith, all of it, and not becoming stumbling blocks to them.  Among other things, you have to teach the second reading from James about wealth and riches.  You must not let them grow up with only the worldly example and values around wealth.  Who else is going to teach them?  You do not want to be the stumbling blocks

Interestingly, in the very next chapter the disciples are again depicted displaying their jealousies, and concerns with their greatness.  And we hear that they are preventing people from coming to him in Mark 10:13. 

It is clear in the Gospels that the disciples did not understand Jesus during his lifetime.   They instead are caught up in worldly concerns.  At times they have an inkling that they are in the presence of a great one.  Peter even has a flash revelation that Jesus is the Messiah (Mark 8).  But, while Jesus was with them they were quite often taken up by jealous concerns.  Perhaps, no different than some of us would be today, if we are honest.

Who is in and who is out are questions of concern to many in our present day.  It is a concern in our churches:  who belongs, who is most important, who has the power, who has "earned" entrance, who gets to minister, who gets to lead, who is the correct gender to be ordained, etc?  But who is asking this critical question:  is it possible that we might be preventing others from coming to Jesus?  Is it possible that we have become a stumbling block to others, stumbling blocks deserving of the millstone around our necks?

We draw lines all the time, or we approve of lines that are drawn for us.  We participate in the creation of stumbling blocks.  What is it that causes us to do such things?  If we would be able to determine it, we should be as drastic as Jesus describes in the Gospel today, cutting off hand, or foot, or plucking out our eye if that be the obstacle.  We must not be stumbling blocks or scandals to others!!

Jesus, the Son of God, the Messiah, our Savior came to free us from our sin and from our narrow-mindedness, not just forgiving us, but showing us a way to live.  We cannot now continue to live as the disciples did while Jesus was with them.  (They must have told/confessed their naiveté/ignorance many times after the Ressurection because all of the Gospel writers spend no little time depicting the disciples with their petty concerns and jealousies.)  However, we do know that they did finally come to understand after the Resurrection.

It is the Resurrected Christ who reveals the depth of his teachings, and the fullness of his power.  And we need not be taken with jealousy, envy, or visions of power and exclusive access.  The Christian churches, enlightened by the Resurrection, must throw open their doors to let in the light, to let in all who would come to see; we must open our doors so that we might go out to take the Word of God into the streets, into the market place, into our homes, into our work place, into the political sphere and beyond.  We must take the word to the poorest and most vulnerable, and if they come to us, to our churches, to our homes, to our homeless shelters and food pantries, we must welcome them.  We cannot discriminate.

Jesus accepts the little child, he accepts the "non-approved" miracle worker, he reaches out to the sick and marginalized.  He is radically inclusive.  For our part, as much as we want to follow the Christ, we must rid ourselves, our churches, our charities, our service programs of any hint of discrimination and stumbling blocks to access to Jesus.  Jesus says, "Do not prevent them!"